Research Experience for Teachers Program

The RET program offers certified and pre-service K-12 teachers the opportunity to work for six weeks during the summer under the guidance of an MRSEC faculty member.

The primary mission of our RET program will be to build a relationship with secondary and high school teachers so that we can work with them to introduce modern engineering into their curricula, to provide them with the excitement of a research environment, and to develop with them teaching modules that they can use in their classroom and that, with more advanced concepts, we can use in the college classroom as well. We will work primarily with science teachers, however, teachers in fields such as art, economics, and math will be considered through a team teaching approach, to encourage students to consider issues of engineering design, business, as well as the mathematical framework that underpins so many of the principles of engineering science.

During our summer program regular scheduled weekly activities for the RET participants have been developed to broaden their knowledge of research. These activities are leveraged with the NSF GK-12 Program at Brown as well as the MRSEC REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates) Program. Several of these activities will focus on the use of various experimental techniques in materials research whereas others will involve local industries, and facility tours.

A stipend for the 6 week program is offered, as well as the possibility of a second summer and contributory resources during the entire period. The program will begin in late June and run through early August. Our program is particularly interested in increasing the participation in research of women, underrepresented minorities and persons with disabilities.
The program is run through The Institute for Molecular and Nanoscale Innovation (IMNI)/Center for Advanced Materials Research (CAMR) at Brown. IMNI is an umbrella organization to support centers and collaborative research teams in targeted areas of the molecular and nanosciences. CAMR is an independent academic unit within IMNI whose goal is to coordinate and facilitate research and education in materials sciences across the campus, as well as foster inter-institutional scholarship and study of modern materials by advanced experimental and theoretical tools.

Unfortunately, there will not be an RET Program for the Summer of 2012